For the second time in as many weeks, the White House planned a Presidential news conference at 10amET, presenting a programming dilemma for the networks: carry the news conference across the country, or stick with the regular morning news show on the west coast.
Today, as they did on Dec. 4, NBC decided to stay with the Today show. Producing a new half hour which included portions of the Bush news conference. An NBC News spokesperson explained to TVNewser, “We led with the family that was lost in the mountains in California. We covered the press conference in the news block. We felt this was the best way to serve our west coast viewers looking for the news of the day.”
ABC gave affiliates a choice: KABC in LA and KOMO in Seattle aired a three-hour old GMA, adding a voice-over of the Bush news conference to an updated news brief at 7:15amPT. Among those airing the news conference live: San Francisco’s KGO and San Diego’s KGTV (although KGTV took the Bush event at 7:10amPT in the middle of a Chris Cuomo interview with Sen. Barack Obama.)
CBS aired the special report across the country, rejoining the Early Show at 7:53amPT.
>Update: NBC’s special report was an optional to west coast affiliates. A reader from Portland, OR writes “KGW cut away three minutes into the [Today] broadcast and aired the news conference.”